Hey everybody, I didn't really get much input in the Main Forum, and then I realized that this is probably the more appropriate location for this thread. This is a video I completed a day or two ago, and would really love some constructive criticism and advice on what I can do to keep improving my video edits! Thank you!

Hey Ben, I mostly agree with Joe, shaky footage kills a vid for me, have you tried some kind of stabizer for your camera? Also I like to see tricks that are landed clean, next time edit out the scatchy landings (there were a lot in the vid) Keep working on it and keep posting for CC it really helps and gives you new ideas,

Joe,
Ha, I'll put the moratorium on the Reverse footage for sure. And the hat?! Obviously all the riders in that video ride for RedBull. :-) RB hat just happened to be in the boat and I figured why not, but I do see where you're coming from for sure. Yeah, I'm going to have to find a way to keep it more steady. Just got the camera last weekend, and that was one of the things I noticed was that It was pretty sensitive to shaking. I'll look into that further.

Randy,
I'll look into the stabilizers for sure, and I'll do my best to keep the landings tighter on the future edits!

I appreciate the advice! I'm having a blast putting these things together, and want to keep making better and better ones, so thank you!

stabilizers won't help if you're shooting from the tow/chase boat. all it takes is practice. shoot w/ both hands on the camera and use your knees to take up the shock of all the bumps the boat hits (like shock absorbers on a car).

I'll try that out this afternoon. I've shot the rider directly behind the boat a lot, but that was my first time (obviously by the shakes) shooting chase, so I'm looking forward to trying it out again. We'll get that baby smoothed out!

Joe's right about the steadiness, but it is incredibly hard to shoot steady footage with what is essentially a handicam due to the light weight and small size of the camera. Best way to get steady footage with a smaller camera is to use the lcd screen and hold the camera low. it steadies the shot and what not, but it eats battery so fast. I still can't get super steady footage with my little canon hg-10 and i've been filming wake fairly steadily for 3-4 years. Just keep practicing.

My critique is on the edit, don't cut to black between shots. I know some people do it, but it kind of interrupts the flow of video in my opinion, and I'd rather see more shots than the black and white between them. I'm not going to lie, I've done that before, but it looks better IMO when you use different shots instead of the quick black.

Also, just remember, you can't edit what you don't shoot, so film CONSTANTLY. Get as much footy of stuff going on around you as you can. You never know when someone on the boat is going to give you some awesome b-roll footage with their antics or something. So much of the stuff in wake vids isn't scripted, and you have to keep an eye out for that kind of footy, because it's the most natural (again, just my opinion, but yeah).

I may not be very good at following my own advice which results in my own mediocre videos, but I understand the concepts behind being a good videographer. It just takes a ton of practice.

Cool, thanks Nick. Yeah, random filming can really get some fun stuff in there for sure. I see what you mean about the "flicker" that was in there towards the beginning, i wanted to try it with the beat, but it's definitely something that probably won't be seen much.

It's probably more of a preference thing. I always shot through the viewfinder on my camera, but people were always telling me the footy was shaky. Someone suggested to hold it low and use the lcd, and I did that, and all of my chase footy from that angle is a lot steadier. Eat's battery like CRAZY though. :/